


Cosmic Love

by memefucker69



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Aliens, Alternate Universe - Tribal, Fluff, M/M, Minor Character Death, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-16
Updated: 2016-09-16
Packaged: 2018-08-15 07:12:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8047189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/memefucker69/pseuds/memefucker69
Summary: When Kyungsoo goes to the exoplanet, Ex'act, to research the wildlife, he doesn't expect to have his heart stolen by a special native named Kai.





	Cosmic Love

**Author's Note:**

> warnings: tribal!au, made-up language, minor character death, smut (top!kai)
> 
> note: written for the kfr 10k project! there will be a sequel/epilogue sometime :-)

“That honey could save millions of people,” Kyungsoo breathes, eyeing the deadly _vehemi_ bees’ nest from the moss-covered tree he hides behind.

Chanyeol rolls his eyes. “Yes, yes, I know. Save me the lecture about cancer research. Just tell me how you want me to help you get it.”

Kyungsoo scoffs, glaring at Chanyeol who’s standing behind him, gun at the ready. “Put that gun away, marine. Nothing here is going to harm us.”

“But those bear-looking things from the other week…” Chanyeol argues.

“They won’t come here. The sun isn’t down yet. Save _me_ the lecture,” Kyungsoo grumbles, bending down to reach into the bag they’d brought with them, a duffle filled with small survival necessities in the case of an accident and the items needed for extracting the honey from the bees’ nest. Chanyeol mumbles something but places his gun down on the ground.

Researching the plant and wildlife on the small exoplanet that’s similar to Earth, Ex’act, was always known to Kyungsoo and his fellow team of government scientists to be dangerous with hostile and wild animals and natives that could attack them at any moment if they didn’t watch their backs, but they had a team of trained marines to protect them—Chanyeol being one of them. Kyungsoo doesn’t like them as they tend to shoot anything that moves and harm innocent wildlife, but Chanyeol’s tolerable at least.

“They’re like the bees on Earth.” Kyungsoo takes out something that looks like a silver kettle, only a little skinnier and larger with an accordion-like appendage. “Smoke causes them to relax, and we can harvest without them attacking us. You might get stung, but one sting won’t kill you.” Opening the lid, he pulls out a lighter and ignites the paper stuffed inside. “You smoke the bees’ nest, while I extract the honey.”

“Sounds easy,” Chanyeol grins, taking the smoker from him.

“Don’t fuck up, Chanyeol, I swear to god I’ll kill you if you do,” Kyungsoo warns with a fierce glare. If Chanyeol messes up, it means a million stings for him, but he doesn’t trust the marine to extract the honey effectively. “Don’t stop smoking the hive, now go.” He pushes the suddenly reluctant man towards the buzzing hive.

Chanyeol glances back at the scientist but inches his way towards the nest, smoking gun clutched with both hands. He starts to smoke the hive and instantly the activity of the bees flying around dies down, and Kyungsoo takes his chance. Grabbing a nearby branch of the tree with a knife in his hand, he starts up the tree, climbing towards the large branch that the hive hangs from. It’s not long before he’s inching down a nearby branch gingerly, not wanting to jostle the hive. It swats away from of the gathering smoke before using the knife to cut away at an extension of the hive, black-tinted honey oozing out. He cuts through completely, flinching at the sting of a bee, and the chunk drops down to the ground.

Kyungsoo doesn’t want to push anymore—as he already feels bad for stealing from the nature—and climbs back down. Once he’s back on the ground, he picks up the piece of black honeycomb and places it in a plastic bag. “You can stop smoking them now, Chanyeol.”

“Alright,” Chanyeol coughs as he walks through the haze he created. “Are we heading back to camp now? The sun’s going down.”

“Yeah, just give me a second to pack things back up,” Kyungsoo replies as he takes out a bottle of water and uses it to douse the flame inside the smoker before dumping the soaked paper out.

“I’ll go start the helicopter then,” Chanyeol states, picking his gun back up. He disappears through the underbrush towards the spot where they parked the vehicle. With the jungle-like surface of Ex’act, it’s hard to drive anywhere on the land, so they have to travel by flight.

Uncapping a marker, Kyungsoo scribbles on the outside of the bag, putting the coordinates of their location, the date, and marking his initials as the scientist who retrieved this sample. He startles as he hears Chanyeol yell a curse and scoffs. That idiot can never go a second without squawking at something. It’s probably just him getting scared of a bug again, so Kyungsoo turns back to what he’s doing.

But then he hears the roar and a scream, followed by gunshots, and Kyungsoo feels a chill in his bones.

“Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo shouts, stumbling onto his feet and grabbing the bag as he darts into the trees. The screams continue but the gunshots have stopped. Breathing raggedly, the scientist runs as fast as he can, fearing the worst. Those roars sounded like Ex’actian panthers, fearsome creatures who were deadlier than the panthers back on Earth. Chanyeol has never encountered them like Kyungsoo has.

He bursts into the clearing where the helicopter was and instantly feels sick. It’s a pack of at least four panthers and they’re all crowded into the helicopter cab, feasting. Blood is smeared on the grass, and Chanyeol’s gun lies abandoned on the ground. Kyungsoo trembles. He can’t see Chanyeol’s body, but he doesn’t think he wants to.

Adrenaline pulses in Kyungsoo’s veins, and he backs up as quietly as possible. If the panthers hear him, he’s a goner too. He shuffles back a little more, almost in the coverage of the trees again - and then a twig breaks. The panther closest to him stills and a growl rumbles in its chest. It’s two pairs of white-tipped ears flicker, and then it turns towards him, green eyes piercing.

Kyungsoo books it. He runs for his life.

He can hear the yowling of the cat-like predator as it chases after him. He darts between trees to try and dodge it, but he’s too slow. His lungs are already heaving with exhaustion, but Kyungsoo can’t stop running. Scared for his life, he does the only thing he can think to do and dives for the hollow inside one of the large trees. It’s something he can fit into, but not the larger body of the panther. It’s a tight squeeze, and Kyungsoo yelps as one of the panther’s large paws swipes at his legs, the claws ripping through his skin and mangling his lower legs terribly. Gritting his teeth from the pain, Kyungsoo kicks at the panthers face, narrowly avoiding its jaws, and it roars in irritation as he tucks his leg inside the tree, scooting back as far as he can with the bag clinging to his back. But the panther doesn’t want to give up as dusk settles in, it jumps and claws at the trunk of the tree mercilessly, and Kyungsoo justs buries his head in his knees and folds his arms over himself as protection. The panther reaches inside, claws just barely scraping his arms. Kyungsoo wishes he would’ve packed the gun or taken Minseok’s suggestion on bringing another marine with him. It’s his fault that Chanyeol is dead and that he’s in this situation, cowardly hiding from the predator that won’t stop at anything to eat him. Maybe he should just let this panther eat him.

It seems like an eternity that he’s tormented by the yowling and scratches of the wild cat. But then it suddenly stops as the Ex’actian panther cries out as though in pain. Kyungsoo lifts his head, noticing that it’s now dark out and the only light is emitted from the glow of the exotic flowers around the space. The panther is lying on the ground before the tree, what looks like an arrow sticking out of its neck. Kyungsoo almost emerges from his hiding spot, but his breath catches in his throat, and he shrinks back as tanned bare legs and feet stroll over to the dead animal, a strong arm reaching down and ripping the arrow from its flesh. There’s no doubt that this person is a native, someone that will kill Kyungsoo for being on their territory. It doesn’t feel like he’s safe when this person is probably much more dangerous than a panther could ever be.

He can only see the person’s legs because of their proximity to the tree and the small opening, and Kyungsoo’s heartbeat speeds up in his chest as they turn and walk closer. They stop before the trunk, and Kyungsoo quietly tries to press himself further inside, despite the lack of room, but he winces from his injured leg, and that’s when he’s found out.

The native suddenly kneels, revealing a nearly naked tanned man only wearing a loincloth with a bow in his hand, and he slowly leans down until his face is in Kyungsoo’s view, peering into the hollow of the trunk. His handsome face is visible, even in the dark, but he doesn’t look angered or dangerous. If anything, the Ex’actian looks curious. He cocks his head to the side, and the reaches out to touch Kyungsoo’s cheek, marveling at the softness of his skin.

“U-Um,” Kyungsoo stutters with what to say. He doesn’t know the Ex’actian language. That’s Baekhyun’s specialty. And he also doesn’t know why this man is touching him.

The man blinks. “Why hide?”

The syllables sound difficult on his tongue, but it’s easy for Kyungsoo to understand. He’s just startled that he knows English. There was a group before them that were on good terms with the Ex’actians and learned a few things from the native group, but Kyungsoo didn’t know they’d taught them English.

“The...the panther,” Kyungsoo replies, hesitant. To clarify when the man looks confused, he points to the dead animal lying in the grass.

“Ah!” the tan man’s face brightens as he glances behind himself, and he turns back around to nod at Kyungsoo. “ _Nien iku_.”

Kyungsoo nods, giving a small smile of his own, trying to soften the mood just incase the man actually will kill him - not that he knows what he said. He hopes it was something like _okay_.

“My name is Kyungsoo.” He might as well try to make some sort of friendly introduction.

The man cocks his head again, not understanding.

Kyungsoo tries to simplify it and points at himself. “Kyungsoo.”

“Soo,” he repeats with a nod. “You Soo.”

“Kyungsoo.”

“Soo.”

He sighs. “Sure. What’s your name?” Kyungsoo points at the man. “Name?”

“Kai,” the man points to himself with a smile.

“Kai,” Kyungsoo repeats, and Kai’s smile grows wider.

Deeming it safe to come out, Kyungsoo tries to move his legs but hisses at the sharp pain in his left, the one that was abused by the panthers claws. Touching the lower part of his leg, he winces and his hand comes back red with blood. It looks like a deep wound.

Kai’s eyes widen, and his hand darts out to gingerly hold Kyungsoo’s calf. “Hurt,” he utters, looking at Kyungsoo in concern. “Come,” he says, helping Kyungsoo out from the tree. “I help.”

“Oh, no,” Kyungsoo waves his hands in denial once he limps onto his feet, “I just need to get back ho-- _hey_!” He shouts as Kai suddenly picks him up bridal style, his bow stashed on his back with his arrows. Kyungsoo flails as he tries to grab onto something as the Ex’actian starts moving, and he ends up circling his hands around his neck. Surprisingly, Kai smells nice and floral, and that’s when Kyungsoo notices in the light from the stars and the surrounding plants that he has soft pink hair, long and twisted down into a braid that bounces off his back as he runs quickly through the forest. Flowers of all colors are tucked within the folds of his hair, and a crown of them decorates his head.

As if catching his stare, Kai looks down at grins at him, showing pearly teeth and dimples. Kyungsoo blushes and averts his eyes. “Where are you taking me?” he asks.

“My tribe. Healer. He...know humans.” His face scrunches up a bit as if he’s having difficulty explaining.

“Do you mean he knows how to heal humans?” Kyungsoo tries to help. Ex’actians aren’t that much different from humans. Their appearance is the same, but Kyungsoo knows that they heal faster than humans and are stronger, along with different organ systems and DNA makeup.

“Yes, him heal humans,” he nods, and then he looks ahead and his brows furrow, as if troubled by something. Kyungsoo turns his head as Kai guides them through hanging flowery vines, which leads them into a large clearing - the tribe’s land. Tents and huts are gathered around a large willowing tree with fluorescent purple blossoms. Few Ex’actians are outside their homes, and some turn to look at them, wonder in their eyes once they notice Kyungsoo.

One young woman with a baby on her back approaches Kai and Kyungsoo with narrowed eyes. _“Zar dire nian egik, Kai? Zikgatik dire nian eki hau human?”_ She spits, almost angry, and she looks at Kyungsoo with a glare. He shrinks back, avoiding her eyes. He understood the word ‘human’, and she had said it like a curse word.

Kai glares back at her. _“Lasist! Ti da zauris.”_

She seems to look all over Kyungsoo before noticing his bleeding leg. The woman looks ashamed at her actions, and she bows at Kai and Kyungsoo. _“Nien di sentitiz, sanseme.”_

He smiles at her. _“Esker nian kezent, Binnie.”_

The woman leaves them, and Kyungsoo notices that a small group has formed around them, all natives peering curiously at Kyungsoo as if he were a kitten the man had picked up. But Kai pays the people no mind and continues on walking.

“What did she say?” Kyungsoo asks, scared if he got them in trouble.

“She friend. She want to know why Kai hold Soo.” Kai explains as he approaches a large hut, strings of dried flowers and beads covering the opening.

He walks inside and the ground is covered in furs along with two cots and tables filled with jars of whatnot. Two torches on either side of the hut cast light into the space. On one of the cots lies a pregnant woman and next to her kneels a dark-haired man, dyed blue cloth covering his shoulders. The man, who Kyungsoo assumes is the healer, smiles at the woman, murmuring to her as he touches her stomach. He hands her a small clay pot of something before helping her up to her feet and guiding her out of the hut.

 _“Ah, zar ekar nian hemin, sanseme? Ha human?”_ The healer asks Kai before looking at Kyungsoo with kind eyes and speaking in perfect English, “Are you hurt?”

It surprises Kyungsoo, and he nods as Kai silently sets him down on his feet. He limps towards the healer. “My, um, my leg.”

“Oh, my!” He exclaims as he catches sight of Kyungsoo’s mauled leg in the torchlight. “What happened? I will help you.” The healer motions to one of the cots, and Kai helps Kyungsoo sit down onto one of them. From the feel, Kyungsoo can tell they’re stuffed with feathers.

Kai answers before Kyungsoo can reply. _“Ti dien eraso ara hi beltkatu.”_

Assuming he talked about the panther, Kyungsoo adds, “I’m part of a research team from Earth, but my friend and I were attacked by the panthers. I hid from one, but it got my leg, and Kai came and saved me.” He feels a pang in his heart as he remembers Chanyeol. Kyungsoo should’ve ran to help the moment he heard his shouts and gunshots.

“Saved you, did he?” The healer throws an amused, dimpled smile at Kai. _“Maita sanseme.”_

Kai pouts with a sheepish look but says nothing as he sits on the ground beside Kyungsoo’s cot. Kyungsoo wonders what was said.

“My name is Lay, but you can call me Yixing,” the healer greets as he grabs what looks like a cloth bandage, a pail of water, and a clay pot. “The last time humans visited, a human named Baekhyun gave me that name. He said it was from a place called China. Do you know China?”

“I do, and I know Baekhyun too,” Kyungsoo smiles at him. “My name is Kyungsoo. Baekhyun is part of my team right now.”

“I see,” Yixing grins back as he settles down next to the cot and pushes Kyungsoo’s shorts up and away from his knee. “He was the one who helped me with my English.” Yixing dips a rag into the pail of water, squeezing the excess liquid out before wiping at the blood on Kyungsoo’s leg. “The wound does not seem to be too deep. You’re lucky it was not something poisonous that scratched you.”

Kyungsoo winces as Yixing presses hard on the large vertical wound on his leg. “I need to get back to my group. They’re probably wondering about me.”

“No,” Kai speaks up. “Soo stay here.” Kyungsoo glances at him, and Kai has a frown on his already pouty lips.

“Yes. This will take some time to heal. Do you have contact with your group?” Yixing asks as he takes off the lid of the clay pot.

“No,” Kyungsoo sighs. Chanyeol had the communication device. Regardless, he doesn’t think he’d know the way back to camp if he tried.

“Then you might as well wait for them to find you.”

Yixing dips his hand inside the pot and pulls out with his fingers covered in what looks like a deep green mixture of mashed herbs and oils. He spreads it over Kyungsoo’s wound gingerly. It stings like any antibiotic would from Earth, and that calms Kyungsoo’s insecurity about Yixing knowing how to treat humans correctly.

The sound of beads moving from the entrance of the hut as Yixing is rolling the cloth bandage around his leg has their heads turning to see an muscular Ex’actian man dressed sparse like Kai standing there. Like the woman from before, his eyes narrow at the sight of Kyungsoo, and then he barks at Kai, _“Sansatiene bizan nian iku, sanseme.”_

Kyungsoo recognizes the last word as what Yixing and the woman before called Kai, and he wonders what it means. Kai scoffs in reply and shifts to stand - but not before moving closer to Kyungsoo with a smile and pressing a kiss to his temple gently.

 _“Nien iza belt’an, nier arluna,”_ Kai murmurs to him as he stands up. “I be back, Soo.”

Kyungsoo’s face flushes red, and he stutters out, “O-Okay.”

Yixing laughs once Kai and the man are gone. “Our _sanseme_ seems to like you quite a lot.”

“ _Sanseme_? What does that mean?” Kyungsoo asks, shaking off the fluttery feeling caused by Kai’s kiss. “You all call Kai that.”

“Oh, you don’t know?” Yixing looks at him in surprise. “I guess in English it would be prince? Kai is the second son of our leader, so I guess he would be like a prince.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen. “He’s a prince?” He had no idea, but it would make sense with how the woman outside looked apologetic after scolding him, and Kai does have a prince-like aura to him. “Am I going to get him in trouble?” Maybe that’s why that man looked so angry.

“Most likely,” Yixing says honestly, finishing his bandage job on Kyungsoo’s leg. “But don’t fret over it too much. I’m sure Kai brought you even knowing his mother, our _sansatiene_ , would be angry. He has a kind heart.” He smiles at Kyungsoo before standing up. “You can rest here for now. I’m sure Kai will be back soon.”

 

_“Nien nian etan sek!”_

Kyungsoo stirs awake to the sound of arguing voices, and his heavy eyes slowly open. Through his bleary vision he notices he’s still in Yixing’s hut and guesses it probably wasn’t long that he spent asleep. Sitting up, he sees Kai standing in front of him, bare buttcheeks right before his face that make him swiftly avert his eyes, and that’s when he sees an old woman standing in the entrance of the hut, her long black hair nearly reaching the ground and wearing many colorful cloths and necklaces. Kyungsoo instantly knows this must be Kai’s mother, the leader of the Ex’actian tribe. A young man with dark hair stands beside her, dressed like Kai and wearing a stern expression on his face.

He hurries to sit up, wondering what all the commotion is about, and he catches the attention of the _sansatiene_. She strides forward in a powerful manner, picking up her long skirts. “You,” she scowls down at him, “Where are you from? Why are your people here?”

“Soo--” Kai tries to reply, but she silences him with a hand and looks at Kyungsoo expectantly.

“My name is Kyungsoo. I'm with a group of human researchers from Earth. We just came to study the plant and animal life, and we have no aim to destroy or interfere with anything here,” Kyungsoo answers. “But, um, I got separated from my group, and Kai found me.” He offers her a nervous smile.

“His leg is injured, _sansatiene_ ,” Yixing speaks up from the corner. “And he has no way of getting back to his group right now. He needs a place to rest for now.”

She still bears the same frown but stays quiet, mulling things over. Kyungsoo just hopes he isn’t kicked out into the night all alone. Not that he wants to stay here that much, but he has no choice. He’d have more than just one Ex’actian panther to worry about, not to mention that it’s still night. The forest is much more dangerous at night - when all the predators come out. He gnaws on his lip with worry as Kai’s mother once again looks him over with a narrowed gaze.

“He can stay,” she decides finally, and a smile blooms on Kai’s face. He quickly erases it when she looks his way, and she continues. “But once his wound is healed and he can find his people, he must leave. Understood?”

“Yes,” Kyungsoo replies, nodding quickly. “Thank you.”

Kai doesn’t look happy, but he presses a palm to his chest. _“Ki, satiene.”_ He mumbles.

His mother points to Kyungsoo. “Kai, take him in with you. We have no other place to put him.”

“In hut?” Kai looks surprised, but it’s a surprise he looks happy about. “With Kai?”

“Yes, in your hut. Now, go,” the _sansatiene_ orders. “It is very late at night.” She gives Kai a stern look and then leaves with that young man who never spoke a word during the exchange. Kyungsoo wonders if he was Kai’s brother. He seemed to carry pride on his shoulders like a prince would.

Kai bends down to Kyungsoo’s side immediately, a bright smile on his lips. “Kai and Soo go?”

He doesn’t know why his mouth goes dry every time Kai speaks. “Um, yeah, sure.” Kyungsoo gets up from the cot, Kai grabbing his hand and pulling him up. Kyungsoo makes sure to grab his bag from the ground before Kai starts to eagerly tug him towards the entrance.

“Bring him back here tomorrow, and I’ll look at the bandages again!” Yixing calls as Kai leads Kyungsoo out of the hut and into the night.

Kyungsoo finds himself limping along as Kai practically drags him along by the hand, the same ecstatic smile on his face as he leads Kyungsoo around the huge tree, and the human admires the beauty of the tree, wondering if it has any significance for the tribe.

Kai’s hut is towards the edge of the clearing, and it’s the same size as Yixing’s but larger than the surrounding huts, probably because he’s their prince. The one other thing that sets it apart from the others is how flowers bloom in a circle around it, almost clinging to the walls of the hut. It’s odd as there are few flowers throughout the clearing at all, but they’re all piled there. But Kyungsoo finds it fitting as he glances at Jongin’s long, braided hair again and the flowers decorating his head.

“Soo like?” Kai asks, looking at Kyungsoo timidly like his whole life depends on his answer.

“Um, it’s nice, Kai. The flowers are pretty,” he answers, feeling warm when Kai reacts to him happily.

“I like flowers. I bless by them.” Kai leads him inside of the hut. It’s like Yixing’s with the torches lighting the interior and the ground covered in furs and skins, though flowers peek through the gaps, surrounding the large cot in the center like the outside of the hut.

“Bless?” Kyungsoo questions.

“Yes.” Kai leads him to sit down on the cot, and he sits next to Kyungsoo. “Our god show us our fate when we child.”

Kyungsoo follows Kai’s eyes to the gap in the ceiling of the hut, the many stars in the sky shining down on them. “How do they show you?”

“Spirit guide in our tribe Boa. She speak with our god. At night, child lay under stars and ritual performed. Some fate bigger than others. Kai bless by flowers and nature. I born to be love by them. When I child, I come with light hair. Different than others.” Kai strokes the petal of a nearby white and oddly shaped flower, and Kyungsoo thinks he imagines the plant curling towards Kai’s touch.

“That’s beautiful. So your hair is naturally this color?” Kyungsoo motions to Kai’s braid that is now resting over his shoulder and on his chest, the tip reaching his hip.

Kai nods, scooting over closer to Kyungsoo until their thighs and shoulders are touching and then casually hands the length of his braid to Kyungsoo. “Soo can touch.”

Kyungsoo sputters, not expecting that to happen, but with red cheeks he feels the surprising softness of Kai’s hair. He expected it to feel rough or dirty, but it’s well-groomed, and the flowers placed between the gaps of the braiding are beautiful. Kyungsoo’s boring, short black hair is nothing compared to this.

“It’s pretty,” Kyungsoo looks up at Kai with a smile.

He returns the grin, and Kyungsoo freezes when Kai moves his hand to touch Kyungsoo’s hair. He feels the bangs that fall over Kyungsoo’s forehead and then the shorter undercut on the sides of his head. Kyungsoo’s feels his cheeks grow warm as Kai leans down and a kiss like before is placed on his temple, Kai’s nose brushing against his hair.

“Soo pretty too,” he murmurs. _“Nier arluna.”_

When Kai pulls away, Kyungsoo looks at him in wonder. There’s something about Kai that has him feeling all tingly and unusually sheepish. He’s practically a stranger, but Kyungsoo feels comfortable near him, and it’s obvious that Kai is curious about him too. For some reason, he looks at Kyungsoo like he hung the moon, and they’ve only just met. Kai looks at him like he’s been waiting for him his whole life.

The moment is lost when Kyungsoo suddenly yawns, covering his mouth with his hand as he does so. It has to be late into the night, and he didn’t get much sleep in Yixing’s hut evidently. The drowsiness has caught up to him.

“Oh, Soo tired.” Kai looks guilty like he kept Kyungsoo awake.

“It’s fine. I didn’t realize I was sleepy.”

Kai gets up, and Kyungsoo stands up too, watching as the taller man picks up a woven blanket that was lying to the side of the cot. He carefully spreads the blanket out before taking off the crown of flowers on his head and setting it aside. Kai puts out both torches with a shell of something, drowning the hut in darkness except for the light coming from the stars.

“Soo can sleep with Kai.” He says as he lies down on one side of the cot when he notices Kyungsoo is still standing there.

Kyungsoo fidgets a bit, feeling awkward in his shorts. He’s not used to sharing a bed or sleeping with his shorts on. He never sleeps with pants on; it’s just uncomfortable. But he doesn’t want to just suddenly strip in front of Kai, even though the man himself wears practically nothing and probably doesn’t care. It’s not like he can really see that well without the torches.

“Um,” he mumbles, “can you look away?”

Kai tilts his head, not understanding.

“Close your eyes until I say it’s okay,” Kyungsoo clarifies, feeling embarrassed.

Kai still looks confused, but he closes his eyes as asked, and Kyungsoo hurriedly tugs off his shorts and places them next to his bag. He crawls onto the cot and gets beneath the blanket. “You can open them now if you want.”

As expected, Kai opens his eyes and turns his head to look at Kyungsoo beside him. His smile blooms brightly even in the dark, and then he sighs and his eyes flutter shut. _“Lo’gue mainice.”_

Kyungsoo recognizes that phrase from working with Baekhyun. “Goodnight, Kai.”

 

Sweat sticks to his skin as the sun shines down onto the hut, casting bright light onto his closed eyes and warming up the air around him. Kyungsoo squirms as he feels caged in by something, and hot breath on his neck makes the hair on his nape stand up from the ticklish feeling. Opening his eyes with a soft groan, Kyungsoo rubs at them with the back of his hand, his sight bleary. Looking up at the ceiling of the hut, it takes a moment for Kyungsoo to remember where he is and what happened last night.

He turns his head and realizes that Kai’s arms are wound around him, and he’s spooning Kyungsoo loosely from behind, still asleep. The woven blanket is lying at their feet, kicked off at some point in the night, and Kyungsoo feels gross with the sweat sticking to his back. Ex’act tends to keep a warmer climate with cool nights.

Turning in Kai’s arms to face him, he stares at the sleeping man’s face, noting how some shorter strands of pastel pink hair have fallen out of his braid and frame his face. He looks peaceful, and Kyungsoo notes his handsome features once again. It’s hard to ignore how attractive he is, and Kyungsoo doesn’t mind being this close to him.

Maybe it has been a while since he dated.

“Kai,” he murmurs softly, touching the other man’s bare shoulder to wake him up. “Kai, wake up.”

Kai’s eyes snap open as if startled awake, and he sits up, looking around in a tense manner as if scanning for danger. Kyungsoo guesses that the only time he’d been woken up by someone was when there was something wrong.

“Oh, Soo,” Kai sighs once he notices the human beside him. He seems more groggy than alert now, yawning and rubbing at his eyes with a pout.

“Sorry, I just wanted to wake you up.” Kyungsoo sits up with a sheepish look.

Kai smacks his lips together in a sleepy manner, eyes squinted due to the sun. Kyungsoo hates that he notices how Kai’s lips are slightly swollen and red from sleeping. Rubbing at his eyes, Kai looks at Kyungsoo, taking in his mussed hair and then noticing his change of clothes. His cheeks grow red as he outright stares at Kyungsoo’s boxer briefs and how they cling to his thighs.

Kyungsoo notices and scrambles to grab the forgotten blanket and pull it over his legs, hiding his waist from view. “S-Sorry.”

“Why wear a lot?” Kai asks, looking at his abandoned shorts with furrowed brows.

“Uh, well humans don’t like to show a lot of skin,” Kyungsoo answers and judging by the look he gets, he assumes Kai doesn’t understand. He sighs and stands up, picking up his shorts and sliding them back on, pretending not to notice how Kai stares at him. When he goes to sit back down on the cot, his stomach growls, and Kyungsoo flushes in embarrassment. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was.

“Hungry?” Kai guesses with a bright smile. “We go find food?”

Minutes later, Kai is leading Kyungsoo out of the hut and the clearing, back into the forest. Judging by the sunlight, Kyungsoo guesses it’s nearly noon. It’s no wonder that it’s so hot. He wipes at the sweat on his forehead as he follows Kai beneath the trees and through the grasses. Birds squawk from the tree tops, and Kyungsoo swats at the bugs that buzz around.

Kai didn’t bring his bow with him, so Kyungsoo wonders what he’s looking for if they aren’t about to hunt down some animal. But his curiosity soon ends as Kai stops before a large tree, and Kyungsoo cups a hand over his eyes like a visor as he looks up to see some sort of red fruit hanging from its branches - a _go’bitza_ tree. He’s eaten the fruit before, and it’s very sweet and filling.

“Soo stay.” Kai points at him and then proceeds to climb up the thick branches of the tree skillfully. He picks three fruits, holding them to his chest as he jumps down. With a grin, he hands one to Kyungsoo, and they settle down with their backs to the tree. Kai splits the fruits open on a nearby rock, and inside is a white custard-like filling. Kyungsoo picks out the seeds first while Kai dives in wildly, spitting out the seeds as he goes. It makes him wonder who was more hungry out of the two of them.

They share the third fruit when they’re done, and by then they’ve both had their fill. Kyungsoo wipes at his lips and wipes his hands on his shorts but the stickiness from the fruit remains. He groans, feeling nasty. If he were still at their base, he could shower, but there’s no such thing here in the Ex’actian wild. Grumbling, he pulls his legs up to his chest and figures he’ll have to put up with the filth a little longer. It’s not like he’s petty about a little dirt; he is a botanist, but after all that running yesterday, he doubts he smells good.

“Soo?” Kai asks, noticing his down mood. “Why sad?”

“Hmm? Oh, I’m just a little sticky and dirty is all. I need a bath or something,” Kyungsoo shrugs. “It’s fine though. I can live without it.”

“Soo want water?” Kai perks up. “We can have bath in river.”

“River?” Kyungsoo says. “Is it clean?” God, he sounds so materialistic.

“Yes!” Kai gets to his feet, brushing his bangs out of his face with the back of his hands, his fingers sticky like Kyungsoo’s.

It’s obvious that Kai knows every inch of this forest, trekking through it with no hesitance. If there are any branches, plants, or vines in the way, he makes sure to hold them out of Kyungsoo’s way like a gentleman, and before long Kyungsoo can hear the sound of falling water - a waterfall. Kai leads him through a willowing tree, and beyond that is a large waterfall that drains into a sparkling river. It looks like something from a picture of Fiji. Kyungsoo knew there were places like this on Ex’act, but he’d never seen the water. The planet has no oceans like Earth.

“Wow,” Kyungsoo breathes. “It’s beautiful.” He looks down the river and can see some women meters away washing cloth and pots in the crystal clear water. This must be their main water source.

Kai walks over to the deeper part of the river, towards the waterfall where it widens, and Kyungsoo follows. He wonders if it’s warm and bends down, sticking his hand in. It’s lukewarm, the perfect temperature.

He doesn’t even notice what Kai is doing next to him until there’s a large splash into the river, water sprinkling onto Kyungsoo’s skin. Kai grins as he surfaces, his hair now a dark magenta from the water and slicked back from his face. Kyungsoo looks to his side and sees Kai’s crown, loincloth, and hair tie lying there.

“Soo come in!” Kai chirps, swimming over to the edge of the river, where Kyungsoo is squatting. The flowers that were threaded into his hair all fall out as he swims, floating on the surface of the water.

“Okay,” Kyungsoo turns to get up and take off his clothes, “I’ll just go-- _agh_!”

Kai snatches his hand and drags him into the water with a loud splash. Kyungsoo can even hear his loud giggles as he surfaces, clothes soaking wet. He glares at Kai as strongly as he can muster.

“My clothes are wet now!”

Kai keeps laughing anyways; albeit adorable, Kyungsoo finds it annoying as he grumbles and struggles to take off his soggy clothes, throwing them onto the grass. Even his shoes are ruined!

 

“S-Stop looking!”

“I not understand. Why Soo sad?”

“I’m not sad; I’m embarrassed! This is all your fault!” Kyungsoo pouts as he comes out from behind the tree, now dressed similarly to the rest of the men from the tribe: wearing only a loincloth. He feels so odd and bare. It doesn’t feel right to step out into the open with only a piece of cloth covering his privates. Because of his clothes being wet, Kai had to go fetch him something from the tribe to wear, and of course he came back with the only thing he knew.

“I sorry Soo. I try to have laugh.” Kai puts on a kicked puppy expression, his hair dry but loose and untamed.

Kyungsoo would feel guilty if he made Kai feel any worse and settles for patting the taller man on the shoulder. “It’s fine. It’s better than nothing.” He looks down at his leg and notices the bandage that Yixing had put on it before was gone. The blood is dried, but it should definitely stay bandaged. “I should go back to Yixing.”

Kai agrees and leads him back to the tribe, holding Kyungsoo’s wet clothes and shoes for him as an apology. Once they arrive, Kai hands them to a woman to be hung up on a nearby branch, and they enter Yixing’s hut. The healer is occupied with a mortar and pestle in his hands, his back to them as he mashes something in the clay pot.

“Ah, Kyungsoo, did you come back for me to check your bandages?” Yixing puts the clay pot down. “Sit down and I’ll--” He stops when he turns around and notes Kyungsoo’s new choice of outfit, and Kyungsoo flushes down to his toes.

“Well,” Yixing chuckles, “I wasn’t expecting that.”

Kyungsoo sighs as he sits down on one of the cots, careful not to expose anything, which is harder than one would think. “My clothes got wet,” he says. “Thanks to Kai.”

“Soo welcome,” Kai grins, and Kyungsoo thinks he doesn’t really understand sarcasm yet.

“I see that your bandage came off too.” Yixing raises his brows as he grabs another long strip of cloth and that familiar green paste from before. “It looks like it’s starting to heal though. Does it hurt?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “It’s felt fine since I woke up.”

“Good. Then my medicine seems to be working.” Yixing smiles and gets down to his knees to start wrapping Kyungsoo’s calf again.

They stay inside Yixing’s hut for a while, just talking once Kyungsoo’s all fixed up. Kyungsoo learns that Baekhyun and Yixing really were close friends for the months that Baekhyun was stationed on Ex’act a couple years before. He and his fellow researchers taught a lot of the Ex’actians English, especially the important people like Yixing and the _sansatiene_. Kai and his brother, Suho (who was the man Kyungsoo had seen before), learned a bit too, but Kai tended to skip out on lessons, which led to his English being choppy. Kai frowns when Yixing mentions that, but Kyungsoo promises him that he’ll try to help him.

Eventually dusk comes, and Yixing tells them that there’s supposed to be a boar roasting tonight for the whole tribe to eat. Kyungsoo’s stomach cries at the thought of a real meal.

“Here,” Yixing pulls out a small blanket of blue cloth. “You can use this to cover up some, Kyungsoo. I know you aren't comfortable wearing only that.” He drapes it over Kyungsoo’s shoulders with a dimpled smile.

Grateful, Kyungsoo pulls it closer to himself. “Thanks, Yixing.”

Kai looks disgruntled for some reason and hauls Kyungsoo up with a grip on his forearm, a frown on his lips. “Soo and Kai go.”

Kyungsoo stumbles as he’s pulled up and waves quickly to Yixing as he’s dragged out by an impatient Kai, thanking the man for the extra clothing of sorts. Once they’re out of the hut, Kyungsoo looks up at Kai, who’s still scowling as he slides his grip down to hold Kyungsoo’s hand instead. He doesn’t know what has the Ex’actian in such a sour, pouty mood all of a sudden.

“What’s wrong, Kai?” Kyungsoo matches his pace as they approach the spot in the clearing where the smoke is billowing out into the atmosphere.

“Soo no like Kai because I push Soo into water.” Kai’s pout becomes more sad than angry. “Lay better because he do more for Soo.”

Not understanding, Kyungsoo furrows his brows and squeezes Kai’s rough palm once. “I don’t like Yixing more than you just because he gave me this, and I do like you, Kai. It _was_ funny when you pulled me into the river, and I am stuck wearing this, but it’s fine. I don’t hate you or anything for it.”

Kai stops and looks at him with wide pleading eyes, grabbing Kyungsoo’s other hand and holding them close. “Soo mean that?”

“Uh, well, yeah,” Kyungsoo’s cheeks flame with color. “I do like you, Kai.” He feels like this is suddenly a different kind of conversation.

He doubts he’ll ever witness a brighter smile than Kai’s, dimples, perfect teeth and all. And Kyungsoo knows every smile is genuine because Kai doesn’t seem like the type to ever lie. Kai brings Kyungsoo’s hands to his chest, in an utterly adoring manner, and then leans closer to kiss Kyungsoo’s cheek tenderly. Kyungsoo blushes red down to his toes, feeling like squirming at how warm and close Kai is to him. Why does he always seem to make him melt like this?

“Kai like Soo too,” Kai murmurs happily as he pulls away, same blooming smile on his face. He lets go of one of Kyungsoo’s hands to caress his cheek, and Kyungsoo feels the urge to avoid his gaze, shy.

“Why do you treat me like…” Kyungsoo mumbles but trails off.

“Hmm?”

“Um, nevermind,” he shakes his head. “Let’s go. I’m getting hungry.”

Luckily, Kai doesn’t press him for an answer and nods with a grin, keeping Kyungsoo’s hand in his as he leads them closer to the bonfire, which Kyungsoo can see is a rather large pit with a lot of the tribe gathered around the fire. Dusk is settling in, soon to be evening and night, and he can see the embers rising into the air with the smoke. A large boar, skinned, cleaned, and run through with a stake, is roasting over the flames. The smell is enough to have Kyungsoo’s stomach growling, and he hopes it will be served soon.

Kai is greeted by his people as soon as he approaches, smiling brightly at those that bow to him. He settles down to sit on a flat boulder placed around the fire pit, a little ways away from the heat of the fire, and makes room for Kyungsoo to sit next to him. A woman soon comes over to them with a polite smile, handing Kyungsoo and Kai both a roasted vegetable that looks like a yellow squash, charred nicely in a few spots. When Kyungsoo bites into it, it tastes like a squash too, only a little spicier, making him suspect that the natives probably seasoned it. He finishes it quickly. Another woman follows up and hands them a jug of water to share and drink from, and a man strides forward with a platter of pickings from the pig once it’s finished roasting for them to eat.

It’s obvious to Kyungsoo now that Kai is a prince.

“Are you supposed to lead the tribe after your mother?” Kyungsoo asks him as Kai takes a big gulp from the jug, cheeks pudging out.

Kai shakes his head, swallowing. “No, Suho lead tribe. He older than Kai, and his fate as child to be leader. ‘Suho’ mean ‘born to be leader,’” he explains.

“Oh,” Kyungsoo nods as he chews on a smokey piece of meat. It’s covered in some sort of sauce or baste, and Kyungsoo commends whoever put it together for good seasoning. “What does ‘Kai’ mean then?”

“Mmm…” Kai ponders, searching for the words. “When flowers...grow?” He makes a sprouting motion with his fingers.

“Blooming?”

“Yes! ‘Kai’ mean blooming. Name come from fate.” Kai grabs a piece of meat from the plate that rests on Kyungsoo’s lap.

“Where I come from, people are named randomly. Our names have meaning, but they usually aren’t based off of anything in particular.” Kyungsoo stuffs a rather big piece into his mouth, sauce smearing onto the corner of his mouth in the process. Before he can even lick or wipe it off, Kai touches his chin and swipes it from his skin with his thumb, licking it from his fingers afterwards like it was nothing, but Kyungsoo’s heart stumbled in the process, shell-shocked.

“What Soo mean?” Kai asks, and Kyungsoo has to shake off the daze caused by his touch.

“ _Kyungsoo_ ,” he corrects, “means brightly flowering, so like your name, kind of.”

“Hmm...I like Soo more,” Kai shrugs.

Kyungsoo snorts but accepts his opinion. He doesn’t hate Kai calling him that. It is a little cute. Sucking off the sauce and herbs on his fingers, Kyungsoo’s gaze wanders to a few women and girls a couple meters away. One woman is combing another’s long brown hair with a comb made from bone. It makes him think of Kai’s unruly hair, tangled and loose from their dip into the lake.

Feeling brave, he gets up from the rock, ignoring Kai’s questioning call as he approaches the women with a kind smile. They look at him in confusion as he bends down to pick up a lone comb. “Can I use this?” Kyungsoo asks, holding the comb to his chest just in case they don’t know English.

“Yes.” A young girl nods at him with a smile, and Kyungsoo returns it before bowing and returning back to Kai’s side.

“Move, I’ll fix your hair. It’s messy,” Kyungsoo explains to Kai who looks at him in surprise.

“Soo know how?” Kai slides forward so Kyungsoo can sit behind him.

“Yeah,” he says as he pulls all of Kai’s hair to rest on his back as Kai takes off his crown. Kyungsoo combs the pink hair gently, trying not to make Kai wince when he tugs at the small knots. “My mother was always sick and too weak to do her own hair, so I usually braided it for her.” Kyungsoo smiles at the memories. She had to teach him as a little boy but praised him every time, even if it was sloppy. “She passed away a while back, so I might be a little rusty.”

“I sorry,” Kai says, trying to comfort Kyungsoo.

“It’s alright. It was a long time ago.” Kyungsoo pats his shoulder. He continues to comb Kai’s hair quietly, listening to the crackle of the fire or the unknown words that the Ex’actians speak. Kai sighs every once in a while, and Kyungsoo guesses that he likes the feeling of the comb touching his scalp. There’s an admiration he feels towards Kai for being able to keep his hair long like this and in such a nice condition, though he suspects that Kai has help in braiding it, judging by how the tribe members treat him like the prince he is.

Eventually two young girls wander over with shy smiles and bundles of wild flowers clutched in their small hands. Kyungsoo appreciates the help as they help him with the complicated mermaid braid that he hardly remembers. Joy and Yeri are their names, and they slide the flowers into the notches of Kai’s hair with happy grins. Kai says something to them in Ex’actian that has them both getting all shy and bashful, but he hugs them close in thanks.

“It pretty, Soo,” Kai murmurs to him once the girls are gone. He pulls Kyungsoo over to sit next to him again and pecks his cheek affectionately. _“Esker nian, nier arluna.”_

Kyungsoo turns red again. “You’re welcome, Kai.” He recognizes that last phrase, something that Kai has whispered to him twice the night before when he was being rather...romantic. “Hey, what does--”

“Kai!” He’s interrupted by a young man, fit and slim and similar to Kai’s age, who greets him as he saunters over with short dark hair and sharp eyes. _“Dire nian ilu’si? Hayi esat ri’n neskent dire tze-tze lako nian.”_

Kai’s previous grin falls, and he frowns, looking away from the other man. _“Nien sek’zain.”_ Kyungsoo doesn’t understand at all, as usual, but Kai looks sad and that worries him. What were they talking about?

 _“Aw, iz aria.”_ The dark-haired man grins and motions to Kai’s braided hair. _“Nian hit cuzip oran.”_

Jongin grumbles and swats a hand at him, sending him away with a wave of the hand. He looks a little disheartened from the conversation, which confuses Kyungsoo because the other man had seemed so excited about whatever it was they were talking about.

“What were you talking about?” Kyungsoo asks.

Kai looks at him and smiles. “It nothing, Soo.”

 

In the morning, Kai offers to show him how to hunt, and having witnessed Kai kill that panther to save him, Kyungsoo is curious and takes him up on the offer. They leave the hut and the clearing when the morning dew is still settling and only a few tribe members are awake. Seeing the amount of alcohol that was passed around last night, Kyungsoo isn’t surprised people are still sleeping. Kai didn’t like drinking, he learned, but the other natives sure did.

Grabbing his bow and leather pouch of arrows, Kai leads Kyungsoo into the forest. His steps are light, calculated, and Kyungsoo tries to follow as quietly as possible. “What are we looking for?” He says in a whisper once they’re a ways away from the tribe’s land.

Kai suddenly stops, cocking his head as he listens and thrusts a hand back to stop Kyungsoo from moving. He lifts a finger to his lips for Kyungsoo to be quiet as they approach a tree. When Kyungsoo cranes his neck to peer around the tree, he spots a small mammal that resembles a squirrel but with blonde fur and tiny horns. He isn’t familiar with the name, being a plant specialist and all.

Silently, he watches as Kai takes an arrow from the leather pouch on his back and positions his bow. Just from his form, Kyungsoo can tell he’s probably an ace at archery, though it’s not a sport to Kai. Narrowing his eyes, Kai takes his aim, and Kyungsoo holds his breath as the unsuspecting creature sniffs at the ground.

In under a second, Kai releases his hold and the arrow whistles through the air and hits its target perfectly, the rodent letting out a squeak before it’s lying dead on the forest floor. Kai lowers his bow with a grin and turns to look at Kyungsoo as if expecting praise.

“I’m...wow.” Kyungsoo is stunned. “That was amazing, Kai.”

Kai hums happily in response and practically skips over to his kill, taking out the arrow and picking up the carcass of the mammal. “We eat, and then I teach Soo,” he says, holding up the squirrel-like animal.

Kyungsoo doubts he’ll be any good with a bow and arrow, but once they’ve finished with their impromptu breakfast and the sun is high up and shining, Kai leads him back out to the forest. He seems excited to teach archery to Kyungsoo, but this time he takes him to a small clearing that Kyungsoo recognizes as being near the waterfall, and if he tunes out the other sounds of the forest, he can hear the flowing water from nearby.

A little bit to the left in the clearing sits a stump of where a tree used to be, and Kai approaches it, setting his bag of arrows and bow down next to it before walking over to a nearby fruit tree and plucking a few fruits off, like the ones they had eaten the morning before. A snack?

Instead of eating them, Kai dumps the fruits next to the stump and then picks one up and sets it on top of the old tree stump. Target practice, Kyungsoo realizes. He’d be lying if he said he isn’t relieved to not have to try and aim at living things, let alone kill them.

Grabbing his bow and one of the arrows, Kai darts back over to Kyungsoo with a grin, wisps of loose pink hair framing his face. “I teach now?” he proposes, offering the items in his hands.

“Um, sure, but I’ve never done this before…” Kyungsoo purses his lips as he takes the bow and arrow from Kai. Wrapped up in trying remember how the arrow is supposed to sit on the bow, he doesn’t notice Kai moving to stand behind him until he feels the bare skin of Kai’s chest against his naked back. Kyungsoo nearly drops the arrow in surprise. Kai is so warm, and Kyungsoo can feel his breath on his neck.

Kai’s hands slide up his arms, grasping his hands gently and helping him position the bow. Kyungsoo is so frazzled that he can hardly focus on what Kai is murmuring to him, quietly and intimately into his ear. Gulping, he lifts his arms like Kai tells him to, positioning his fingers correctly on the bow string and gripping the arrow tightly between them.

“Look, _iku_ , aim, _buru_.” Kyungsoo’s face heats up as he feels Kai’s lips brush against his ear. He helps Kyungsoo line up the shot, arms aligned with Kyungsoo’s pale ones. Kyungsoo is surprised his limbs aren’t trembling at this point. Kai’s proximity is doing things to his heart that it shouldn’t.

Letting out a stuttered breath, Kyungsoo releases the arrow when he feels like it’s lined up, and it soars through the air before shooting right through the center of the fruit perfectly, knocking it off the stump. Kai is smiling next to him, a hand moving to caress the back of Kyungsoo’s hair affectionately. “Good, Soo.”

Kyungsoo turns to look at Kai, still pressed against each other, and he’s startled by their close proximity, breath caught in his throat as he looks into Kai’s deep brown eyes, mere centimeters away. Any closer and their noses would brush, and then their lips…

Kai’s hand slides from the nape of his neck to his cheek, a gentle touch that makes Kyungsoo’s eyes flutter shut.

“ _Nier arluna_ ,” Kai breathes, and Kyungsoo doesn’t have a chance to open his eyes before he feels the soft pressure of Kai’s lips against his own. It’s electric, the feeling, and goosebumps appear on his arms. Kai is so gentle and caring, even the way he kisses Kyungsoo is careful but sure, like he’s been waiting for this chance.

It’s a short kiss, but a meaningful one, and Kai pulls away with a sigh. Kyungsoo opens his eyes to see him smiling, and like a schoolgirl he blushes and averts his eyes. It’s Kai’s fault, really. He doesn’t have to be so smiley and handsome-y.

Kai must take it for rejection because his face falls. “Soo…?” He says with a sad puppy look in his eyes.

“Shush,” Kyungsoo mumbles. “I liked it, okay.” He looks up shyly and tucks a loose strand of hair behind Kai’s ear. He doesn’t really know what this is, considering he’s only known Kai for three days now, but he liked the kiss, and he can’t deny that he’s attracted to Kai to some degree. From the looks of it, that feeling is mutual, and Kai’s grin is blindingly sweet when he pulls Kyungsoo closer for another kiss.

 

It’s quite late into the night when Kai drags Kyungsoo out from the hut and to the large willow tree in the middle of the tribe’s lands. It’s massive, speaking of it’s old age, and wildflowers and long grasses surround its trunk and roots. Kai promptly lies down in the long grasses and pats the spot beside him for Kyungsoo to do the same, and he obliges. They’d spent the day exploring the forest, much to Kyungsoo’s glee, and Kai had shown Kyungsoo all the interesting plants that he loved and spots that Kai favorited and self-proclaimed them as “Kai places.” They included a spot with beautiful flowers, a small water hole that various animals visited, and a tree with a large branch that was a nice napping spot. Kai had ultimately urged Kyungsoo up into said tree, and they wasted an hour there napping, Kai cuddling up super close and promising Kyungsoo that they wouldn’t fall. Kyungsoo wasn’t convinced.

When Kyungsoo lies down in the grass next to Kai, he can see why Kai wanted to show him this. It’s the perfect stargazing spot. Ex’act isn’t like the bustling cities on Earth that Kyungsoo is used to - every star in the sky is visible. It reminds him of a painting of a view that someone can only get in rare, rural places, and he can’t help but gasp in wonder at the beautiful scene. He turns his head and looks at Kai, who’s smiling, enjoying Kyungsoo’s reaction.

“It’s...amazing,” Kyungsoo says, astonished.

Kai reaches over to intertwine their fingers, his rough palm against Kyungsoo’s. “I...lay here when I no sleep.”

“When you can’t sleep?”

“Yes.” Kai rolls over onto his side, looking at Kyungsoo with muted wonder in his eyes. With the light from the stars shining down on them, Kyungsoo is utterly ethereal with his soft skin and dark hair. “Where Soo come from, what like?”

“It’s different from here. A lot of nature like this doesn’t exist anymore.” It’s almost comical how Kai’s eyes widen, like he can’t even comprehend the thought. “But on Earth, the land is divided up and separated by water because it’s bigger than this planet. The land is separated and owned by different kinds of people that speak different languages. Like how Yixing mentioned China? That’s one place. But I come from another place called South Korea.”

“S-South...Korea,” Kai mumbles. His pronunciation is wobbly, but it’s cute how he tries, and Kyungsoo squeezes his hand once in encouragement.

“Mhm, and that’s why my name isn’t an English name. It’s Korean, like how Yixing’s name is Chinese,” Kyungsoo explains. “I decided that I wanted to study plants, so I went to learn at a place called university, and then I came here. It’s my first time being away from Earth.”

Kai doesn’t reply to that, and Kyungsoo tears his eyes away from the night sky to see him silently contemplating something, brows furrowed and looking at the ground between them. Concerned, Kyungsoo moves closer, turning to lie on his side like Kai. “What is it, Kai?”

Kai looks up in a shy manner, obviously hesitant. “I...Lay has name from other place. I want name from Soo place - S-South...Korea…” Kyungsoo bets that if it wasn’t so dark, he’d be able to see Kai blushing.

“You want me to give you a Korean name?” He’s surprised but finds it endearing.

Kai nods quickly, eager and excited. “Please,” he says.

“Hmm…” Kyungsoo ponders for some time, unsure of how to go about naming Kai something else. He starts off thinking of names with K, but he doesn’t like them. If he’s going to give Kai a name, it has to be something that suits him well. “What about...Jongin?” He finally decides, watching for Kai’s reaction.

“Jong...in?” Kai blinks. “What mean?”

“It means you have kindness, that you’re nice,” Kyungsoo says, laying his hand over Kai’s chest where his heart is. “Do you like it? I can think of a new one if you don’t.”

“I like!” Kai’s face blooms into a smile. “Soo say Jongin now.”

“You want me to call you Jongin now?”

“Yes!” Kai rests his hand over Kyungsoo’s on his heart. “I Jongin now.”

“Okay, Jongin,” Kyungsoo smiles sweetly. “I’m glad you like it.”

Jongin practically squeals over it, genuinely ecstatic. He rolls over and pushes Kyungsoo onto his back in the grass, hovering over him. Kyungsoo encircles his arms around Jongin’s shoulders, anticipating the kiss that Jongin places on his lips. He sighs, a hand delving into the hair on the back of Jongin’s head, trying not to mess up his braid as his lips move eagerly against the other man’s. Jongin kisses in a slightly inexperienced manner, and Kyungsoo wonders if he’s his first. He holds back a giggle when Jongin jolts as Kyungsoo’s tongue delves into his mouth, letting out a soft, surprised sound in his throat.

“ _Nier arluna_ ,” Jongin pants, pulling away after a moment with shortened breath, red cheeks, and swollen lips.

Kyungsoo strokes Jongin’s bottom lip with his thumb. “What does that mean? _Nier arluna_?”

“It mean Soo in sky.” Jongin does his best to explain, and he motions up to the night sky. “Up there.”

“The stars?”

Jongin shakes his head.

Kyungsoo furrows his brow. “The moon?”

Smiling, Jongin lies down, resting his head on Kyungsoo’s chest. “ _Nier_...moon mine.”

A warmth blooms in Kyungsoo’s core. My moon. That’s probably the sweetest thing anyone’s ever called him, and it came from Jongin’s lips, a man he’s only known for days. But Jongin seems sure of himself, like he knew long before Kyungsoo began to notice that he held affection for him. And Jongin is so infectious that Kyungsoo knows he staked claim on his heart once they met. Kyungsoo’s never felt like this around anyone, especially this quickly.

Maybe he doesn’t mind.

 

“Yes, it seems it’s all healed now,” Yixing chirps as he peels Kyungsoo’s bandage from his leg. “I told you it should be better in just two weeks.”

“Thank you so much, Yixing,” Kyungsoo sighs, standing up from the cot. “I owe you.”

“Oh, please, you owe me nothing.” Yixing waves a hand in dismissal as he cleans up.

It’s been a two weeks since Kyungsoo was chased by that panther and saved by Jongin. He’s gotten used to doing everything with Jongin and breaking away from his mundane research life. They’re practically attached at the hip now. Jongin doesn’t leave Kyungsoo alone for a second.

Well, usually.

Kyungsoo wanders over to the opening of the hut, glancing out to see Jongin standing a ways away, surrounded by young women from the tribe. They’re all offering him things, food, clothes, flowers. Some are touching his shoulders, admiring his biceps, and smiling at him with melodic giggles and bashful glances. Jongin returns their smiles politely, trying to reject the gifts they shove into his arms. It’s been like this for the past two days, and Kyungsoo can’t say it doesn’t bother him. He knows there’s something going on that Jongin’s not telling him about. He notices the frown on Jongin’s face when he’s quiet and thinking or how he clings tighter to Kyungsoo at night.

“Is there something wrong, Kyungsoo?” Yixing asks, approaching him.

“Why are all of those girls flocking around Jong--I mean, Kai?” Kyungsoo gestures to the group around Jongin.

“You mean you don’t know?” Yixing looks at him with astonished eyes.

Definitely confused now, Kyungsoo turns around to face the healer. “Know what?”

Yixing only laughs a little and steps back, hands folded behind his back. “Well, I think that’s something for Kai to tell you himself.” Doing his best attempt at a wink, he turns around and walks back to his cleaning.

Kyungsoo grumbles, irritated because he hates not knowing what’s going on. Moving out of the way so that a man with a mad cough can pass into the hut, Kyungsoo steels himself to ask Jongin about it tonight. He’s tried before with no real answer, but he’s putting his foot down and getting to the bottom of things since no one else is bothering to supply him with answers.

 

A pink _ilu’mi_ behind one ear, an anklet made of threaded yellow _wuni_ \- Jongin murmurs the names of all the flowers he decorates Kyungsoo’s body with. He smiles at the finished product lying in his hands, a beautiful crown made from various colors of blossoms from an _a’kiri_ tree.

Kyungsoo shifts in his lap as Jongin places the flower crown on his head. He was wrong to assume that there was a limit of how many flowers once could have on their person, judging by the bouquet Jongin gave him earlier. Sitting in a quiet meadow with the stars above their heads, one of the “Kai places,” Kyungsoo feels relieved that they’re finally alone. It seemed like the women from the village just wouldn’t leave them alone - or more specifically, wouldn’t leave _Jongin_ alone. They followed him until the sunset, and the two managed to escape into this meadow.

“Soo so pretty,” Jongin says as he presses a kiss to Kyungsoo’s neck, wrapping his arms around Kyungsoo’s bare torso. He’d convinced him that his clothes weren’t needed anymore - that he might as well stick to the loincloth look.

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo tilts his head to look at Jongin behind him. He smiles once and then drops his gaze back to his lap, laying his hands over Jongin’s that lace over his tummy. “Can I ask you something?”

“Hmm?” Jongin intertwines his fingers with Kyungsoo.

“Tell me, why are those girls coming after you? What are you hiding from me?” Kyungsoo turns around in Jongin’s lap to face him, their hands resting between them. Once he comprehends the question, Jongin’s happy expression falls, replaced by something pained and hesitant. As Kyungsoo thought, it’s a topic that’s sensitive.

Sighing, Jongin’s shoulders slump. He lifts a hand to cup Kyungsoo’s cheek before kissing him chastely, pulling away slowly and looking into Kyungsoo’s eyes. “Tomorrow,” he says, “tomorrow, at night, I have...ceremony. Every tribe man have ceremony for twenty year. It important day. A child become man. Kai hair will go. I choose wife.”

It sounds like something traditional and prestigious, something every boy would be excited about, but instead Jongin looks sad. And when he strokes Kyungsoo’s cheek with his thumb once, Kyungsoo realizes it’s because the ceremony means there’s no Kyungsoo in Jongin’s future, only a wife that he doesn’t desire.

Jongin leans forward and buries his face in the crook of Kyungsoo’s neck. He sounds broken when he speaks, and the human can feel moisture drop on his skin. “I no want. I love Soo. I want Soo, only Soo.”

Kyungsoo hugs him close, running his hand up and down Jongin’s back in comfort as he cries quietly against him. “But, Jongin, you can’t give up tradition for me.” They’ve only been together for a two weeks after all. There’s no promise of anything lasting, as much as it makes Kyungsoo’s heart ache when he imagines letting Jongin go so soon.

“No!” Jongin’s outburst makes Kyungsoo jump. He pulls away from the older man’s neck with wet eyes and tear-stained cheeks. “Soo and Kai in stars.”

“Huh?”

“When I young, I visit Boa, spirit guide. She read stars at night, and she tell Kai that soon I meet love. Love sweet and soft. I meet love under stars. Love is _nier arluna_.” Jongin stares at Kyungsoo with sincerity. “Love is Soo.”

“You...You mean that?” Kyungsoo trembles, suddenly feeling choked up. It wasn’t just a feeling. Jongin really _does_ look at Kyungsoo like he’s been waiting for him - because he has.

“I love Soo since I see you.” Jongin whispers, leaning forward to press his forehead against Kyungsoo’s. _“Nier arluna, nian dire endare. Nien nian acai.”_

“What does that mean?” Kyungsoo whispers, eyes closed as his lips brush against Jongin’s.

“I love Soo. I love you.” Jongin breathes before sealing his words with a kiss. His lips taste salty from the tears, and Kyungsoo presses close to him, wanting to feel Jongin’s warm skin against his own. Passionate and filled with young love they’ve both never felt before, the kiss becomes heated, fingers tangling into hair and tongues touching. Jongin moans, his hands tracing down Kyungsoo’s body, gentle touch making goosebumps appear on his skin. They come to rest on his hips, dragging him as close as possible until Kyungsoo is drowning in Jongin.

Kissing for what seems like hours, until Kyungsoo’s chest is heaving from lost breath, he’s startled as Jongin gently pushes him down, his back cushioned by the long grasses and wildflowers of the meadow. Jongin hovers over him, breathing in soft pants with parted and swollen lips, his face framed by the moonlight behind him. They stare at each other, wanting eyes begging for something that neither of them know how to say.

“I love you,” Kyungsoo says in a hoarse voice, eyes watering. He doesn’t care if it’s too soon. But if there’s a possibility that Jongin will no longer be his tomorrow, he has to say it now. A divine being wanted them to be together, and he won’t toy with fate.

“Soo, be mine.” Jongin brings one of Kyungsoo’s hand and rests it over his heart, letting Kyungsoo feel it’s strong, quick beat. “For night.”

Kyungsoo nods, tearful, and he closes his eyes when Jongin leans down to kiss him again, settling in-between Kyungsoo’s legs, their bodies aligned. With hardly anything blocking them, Jongin reaches behind himself to unlace his loincloth, doing the same to Kyungsoo. And when he presses their hips together, he whimpers into the kiss, feeling hot and needy. Kyungsoo’s blunt nails dig into his back as Jongin bucks his hips against him, grinding their forming erections together.

 _“Nien nian acai,”_ Jongin moans, hands pressed into the ground on either side of Kyungsoo’s head. Kyungsoo looks up at him with blown pupils, soft groans escaping his lips. _“H-Hi sentin mainice.”_

“ _Oh_ , Jongin.” Kyungsoo’s thighs tremble as he spreads his legs, trying to feel more as Jongin ruts against him. It’s been so long since he’s been intimate with anyone that he can already feel himself giving away to orgasm. He clutches at Jongin’s shoulder blades desperately as Jongin muffles his erotic sounds with a searing kiss.

It stings when Jongin presses inside of him moments later, only saliva used as lube. But tears don’t spring to his eyes from the slight pain. It’s because of how Jongin whispers sweet nothings into his ears, how he holds Kyungsoo like he’s the only thing that matters. He feels the passion, the lust, the love so genuinely from the man above him that Kyungsoo doesn’t want to let go.

 _“N-Nien nian acai,”_ he chokes out as Jongin slides in and out of him. “I l-love you, Jongin.”

A tear drips onto his chest as Jongin orgasms, shuddering and crying as he clings tightly to Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo follows soon after and holds Jongin’s shoulders. Cuddled close like that, they don’t move for what seems like the longest time.

“I no...I no leave Soo,” Jongin promises, pulling away from Kyungsoo’s neck to look at him. “I stop ceremony. I no marry.”

“Jongin...y-you can’t stop tradition.” Kyungsoo is filled with doubt. “It’s best if I just…”

“No.” Jongin’s voice is stern and sure. “ _Satiene_...mother no stop fate.”

 

As expected, the women are all over Jongin once the sun comes up. It’s worse than the day before. Kyungsoo can hardly try to talk to Jongin when there are girls around them, asking and saying things that Kyungsoo can’t understand. Jongin receives them all nicely and kindly, and Kyungsoo tries not to be heartbroken over it. He prepares himself to leave after the inevitable happens, knowing he won’t be welcome once Jongin is forced to go off with his new wife, even though Kyungsoo has no idea how to get back to his camp from here. He knows Jongin plans on resisting during the ceremony, but being the pessimist he is, Kyungsoo doubts anything will come of it, especially with him being a human and all.

It is Jongin’s birthday though, so Kyungsoo leaves by himself for once to fetch something that he knows Jongin will appreciate as a gift: flowers. He goes down to the stream, knowing that beautiful blue _siti’mi_ flowers grow by the bank, with long, thick green stalks rather than stems and bell-like petals. Jongin had said once that they were some of his favorites, and Kyungsoo crouches down by the bank, his feet in the sand and mud as he pulls the flowers from the ground, gathering eight or so, enough to make a nice bouquet. The natural oils from the stalks stain his hands as he takes a seat in the bank, his feet dipping in the stream.

The flower crown from the night before still perched on his head, Kyungsoo sighs and hangs his head. It’s odd, sitting alone without Jongin next to him, but for once he gets to be alone with his thoughts. He wonders what his team is thinking. Do they think he’s dead like Chanyeol? He hopes not. _God, Chanyeol…_ Kyungsoo hopes that they gave him a proper burial, and that he can be forgiven. It’s his fault that Chanyeol is dead. He should’ve ran to his aid as soon as possible. But also, Kyungsoo would’ve been dead too, if it weren’t for Jongin.

Holding the bouquet to his chest, Kyungsoo sucks in a quick breath. He’d give Jongin his everything if he could.

_“Zar dire nian egik, sinmi h’arluna?”_

The sharp but quiet voice has Kyungsoo snapping his head up, surprised to see a woman standing in the middle of the stream, directly in front of him. Many beaded necklaces serve to cover her chest and piercings line her hips and ears, but the most surprising thing is the length of her hair, surpassing her knees and spreading out around her calves in the water. She’s different than anyone else in the tribe, and Kyungsoo’s never seen her before.

She steps closer, asking again but in English, “What are you doing, gentle son of moon?”

“I…” Kyungsoo doesn’t know how to reply. He doesn’t know who this woman is, but she asks as if she knows him. Her dark eyes stare straight through him, like she can see everything. “I’m getting a gift...for Kai.”

The unknown woman smiles at him then with her painted lips. “ _Ah, nian dire tis arluna_. He will like the gift.”

Kyungsoo isn’t sure why, but his thoughts spill from his lips instantly as if he were speaking to a close friend and not a stranger. “But he’s going to choose a wife, so what’s the point? Even if we want to stay together, we can’t.”

“No,” she replies quickly with a strong gaze. The woman struts over and grabs ahold of his wrist, her dark eyes looking into his own. “Fate cannot be swayed so easily. Do not give in, son of moon.” She smiles at him once again and releases his wrist, turning and walking back down the stream gracefully.

He watches her go, not knowing what to think about the woman, and then lowers his gaze to his wrist where a thin bracelet made of leather lies, a small wooden charm carved into a crescent moon shape dangling from it.

 

It’s sunset when the tribe gathers in front of the large willow tree, Kyungsoo among the crowd and standing next to Yixing. Girls and women clutch their offerings and gifts closely, and Kyungsoo’s grip tightens on his bouquet of flowers as he watches them, swallowing thickly with nerves.

Drums start to build up a beat, and Jongin appears soon enough, following his mother, brother, and other important members of the tribe. His hair is braided beautifully but lacking flowers, and patterns are drawn onto the canvas of his body in white paint. His expression is blank as they lead him in front of the tribe. One of the men in their concession roll out a woven blanket onto the ground, worn from age with a complicated pattern laced through. With a movement of the _sansatiene’s_ hand, Jongin moves to kneel on the blanket in front of the tribe, bowing his head slightly.

The beating of the drums pick up as Jongin’s mother moves to stand next to her son and begins to speak, Yixing translating in Kyungsoo’s ear. _“Kai, my son, blessed and born of nature, it is your time to become a true man. With his father being in the sky, Suho will perform the ceremony.”_

Jongin’s brother steps up behind him, a long blade in his hand. Kyungsoo watches Jongin close his eyes tightly, and he wonders if parting with his beloved hair pains him. His heart feels heavy in his chest, knowing Jongin won’t be able to slide anymore flowers into his pink locks with ease.

Suho holds up Jongin’s long braid gingerly and with his other hand raises the blade high into the air to present it to the tribe and the drums grow stronger. And with one swoop of his arm, he cuts off the braid, the twisted hair and flyaways falling to the ground. Jongin’s fists clench and tighten on his thighs, and Kyungsoo’s heart aches for him. Suho is given a smaller blade, like that of classic shaving, and he cuts Jongin’s hair with skill and a steady hand. Paste is applied and the sides of Jongin’s head are shaved, giving him an undercut.

Jongin looks bare and lonely without the accompaniment of blossoms once they’re finished. His flower crown lies on the ground, abandoned.

 _“Now, with the holy red sap of the sanki’mi tree, we will bless his future.”_ Suho takes a pot, dipping his fingers into the thick sap. He paints Jongin’s face with it, three horizontal lines on each cheek with the translucent crimson sap. Once he’s done, he motions for Jongin to stand, and Jongin steps forward off of the blanket.

 _“And the gakti quilt, which symbolizes his chastity.”_ A man takes the old blanket from the ground, dusting it off before handing it to Suho, who drapes it over Jongin’s bare shoulders.

Kyungsoo blushes, thinking about how Jongin holds no chastity now, not after last night.

Jongin holds his head high as he stands before his people and the drums stop. The tribe all fall to their knees, Kyungsoo following example, praising their prince who has now become a man. Kyungsoo presses his forehead to the ground, wanting to be as respectful as possible. They all raise their heads after a moment but stay kneeling.

 _“To keep in touch with tradition, Kai will now choose a wife worthy of him. Please present your gifts to our sanseme.”_ Jongin’s mother bellows, and the girls slowly approach one-by-one, setting their offerings by Jongin’s feet and then kneeling before him, heads to the ground.

Kyungsoo bites his lip, looking down at the blue bouquet in his hands. When he glances back up, Jongin’s eyes are boring into his own. And he can see him begging, asking for Kyungsoo to do something. He doesn’t know how well he’d be received though.

But he stands up anyways, and all eyes snap to him as he walks forward like the girls, bouquet clutched tightly. The _sansatiene_ looks both shocked and angered as Kyungsoo places the flowers at Jongin’s feet, smiling at him, and then bowing like the girls.

“What is this?” Jongin’s mother spits, and Kyungsoo lifts his head. “Human, go back to your place. You are not welcome--”

“No,” Jongin interrupts, turning to look at his mother with a fierce gaze. “I love Soo. I want...want Kyun’soo. No other.”

She looks appalled, and the air around them stills as the entire tribe wears the same look of surprise and astonishment. When the silence continues, Jongin steps forward and takes Kyungsoo by the hand, pulling him up and then tugging him close to his chest. “Kyun’soo wife.”

“Husband,” Kyungsoo corrects with a frown.

“Husband,” Jongin copies.

That seems to shock her out of it, and the _sansatiene_ glares at them. “Never. I will never allow you to lie with a human, let alone this--”

“It is fate.” The familiar sharp, but quiet voice rings through the clearing, and Kyungsoo turns his head to see the woman from before approaching, her long hair dragging across the grasses.

“Boa,” Jongin gasps. Kyungsoo gawks at the name. He should’ve realized that this was the tribe spirit guide Jongin had spoken of before.

“When Kai was but a child, he came to me. I read the stars that night, and they told me that this man,” Boa gestures to Kyungsoo. “He is meant for our young _sanseme_. It is fate, and you cannot mess with fate, dear _sansatiene_.”

Kyungsoo can tell the moment Jongin’s mother realizes it - realizes that Jongin is serious, and he always has been. Jongin’s arm tightens around Kyungsoo when she sighs and gives a somewhat genuine smile. “If this is fate, then I cannot interfere as you said. I am not pleased, but I cannot deny Kai his happiness.”

Jongin smiles the brightest toothy grin, and he hugs Kyungsoo closer. _“Esker nian, satiene.”_

 

“So we just do a little twisting here and...ta-da!”

Kyungsoo finishes fiddling with Jongin’s hair and steps back to admire his work. A simple barrette that he learned to make from a twisting type of vine by one of the old men in the tribe is pinned in Jongin’s short bangs, keeping the left side pinned back cutely. A flower is twisted into the barrette as well, and Jongin bends over to look into the river to see his reflection and he gasps.

“Kyun’soo…” He looks back at his boyfriend with wobbly lips and watery eyes, touched to the core.

“I know you were sad about not being able to have flowers in your hair now so…” Kyungsoo feels sheepish. “Do you like it?”

Jongin grins and drags Kyungsoo closer by the hips to make him sit on his lap. He pecks Kyungsoo’s lips lovingly. “I love Kyun’soo.”

“I was asking about the flower, not me,” Kyungsoo grumbles but blushes pink anyways, pleased that Jongin seems to like it. Sighing, he combs his fingers through Jongin’s hair, fluffy and windblown. He doesn’t miss Jongin’s long hair too badly. He looks just as handsome with the short hair, and he looks older too.

Jongin’s hair isn’t the only thing that’s changed. It’s been about a month since Kyungsoo was saved by Jongin, and ever since the ceremony, he’s been treated different among the tribe. Being the sanseme’s _sansena_ (Yixing said it means _spouse_ , but Kyungsoo is sure that he’s lying to him and that it actually means _wife_ ), a lot of tribe members come up to him, trying to initiate conversation, teach him something, or give him something. Kyungsoo’s taken to learning things from the old men and women, interested in their culture. The old men teach him how to carve wood and use elements from nature to his advantage; the women show him how to make yarn and knit. He’s actually good at those types of things, unlike hunting - which Jongin keeps trying to teach him.

“Kyun’soo like Jongin hair?” Jongin asks, holding Kyungsoo’s hands in his own once they fall from his rose locks.

“I already told you that I do. It’s very handsome.”

“Very handsome,” Jongin repeats, dimples in his cheeks as he smiles blissfully.

“You need to practice your English more with Yixing, mister.” Kyungsoo pokes at Jongin’s chest, making him frown. “You promised that you’d focus and learn this time. I’ve been trying to learn Ex’actian for you.”

“It hard,” Jongin mumbles. “I try, Kyun’soo.”

Kyungsoo sighs again but smiles and hooks his arms around Jongin’s neck. “It’s okay.”

Leaning forward, he brushes their noses together, making Jongin giggle, and presses a sweet kiss to his plump lips, tasting the nectar of the fruit that he’d eaten earlier. Jongin makes a soft sound in his throat and kisses him back, hands settling on Kyungsoo’s bare thighs. It’s languid and slow, neither in a rush and only wanting to feel. Jongin’s tongue flicks against his bottom lip, and Kyungsoo fights back a grin, finding it cute how much Jongin likes french kissing now.

Kyungsoo yelps in surprise when Jongin pushes him down lie in the grass but laughs in joy when the younger climbs over him, kissing him again with a pretty smile on his lips. Jongin makes him feel like a teenager again - even if Kyungsoo’s only twenty-three - with shy, experimental touches and how he has no concept of appropriate timing, always sticking his hands where they shouldn’t be in midday. And Kyungsoo knows that this is going to be one of those moments when Jongin slots his hips against Kyungsoo’s.

But they’re interrupted by a loud noise, and they both pull away to look up in the sky. The trees rustle from the wind as suddenly a helicopter, flying low, passes by, and Kyungsoo’s eyes widen. He knows who that is instantly.

“They’re...they’re still looking for me?” His voice cracks with disbelief, and he sits up once Jongin climbs off of him. It sounds silly, but Kyungsoo had completely forgotten about finding his research group and going back to them. He stands up, hearing the sound stop, and wonders if they landed nearby.

He immediately starts walking back towards the tribe.

“Kyun’soo friends?” Jongin asks, looking at Kyungsoo with a puzzled expression as he follows a few steps behind.

“Yeah, I...I think they’re here for me.” Kyungsoo smiles brightly as he realizes that he can hear Baekhyun and Jongdae’s loud voices echoing through the trees. He feels Jongin latch onto his hand as soon as he breaks from the forest and into the tribe lands. The sight that greets him is the small two person helicopter parked neatly between two huts, curious tribe members gathered around it and poking at the metal exterior. He spots Jongdae and Baekhyun immediately, the both of them talking animatedly with Jongin’s mother, Suho, and Yixing. Kyungsoo thinks it’s the first time he’s ever seen Jongin’s mother _really_ smile. He can understand though. It’s hard to not like Jongdae and Baekhyun.

“Jongdae! Baekhyun!” Kyungsoo calls as he runs over happily, dragging Jongin along with him. He can’t explain the relief in his heart.

The two men turn to gawk at him, and Jongdae instantly moves to hug Kyungsoo close. “Oh my god, Kyungsoo, you’re really alive!”

“We thought you were dead.” Baekhyun adds, pulling him in for another hug once Jongdae releases him. “Shit, once we saw Chanyeol we thought the worst…”

“Why did it take you so long to find me?” Kyungsoo asks.

“We had to fix the old helicopter.” Baekhyun forks his thumb over to the small helicopter behind him. “It took a while, but we tried searching for you on foot too. We just couldn’t come this far safely. I’m sorry, Kyungsoo.”

“It’s okay,” Kyungsoo shrugs. “I was just lucky that Jongin saved me.” He pulls Jongin close and sends him a smile, which Jongin returns.

“Jongin?” Baekhyun looks confused for a second before catching on quickly. “Aww, you gave Kai a Korean name. That’s cute. Are you his _sansena_?” He jokes with a smirk that makes Kyungsoo remember why he always felt like strangling the life out of him.

“Actually, he is,” Yixing answers with a smile.

Jongdae chokes, and Baekhyun bursts into surprised laughter, making Kyungsoo blush. He was right. It definitely means that he’s Jongin’s wife. He just hopes it doesn’t mean something like “princess” too (it does). Grumbling, he clings closer to Jongin’s side, the younger man looking at the scene in confusion, not understanding what was so funny.

“We try to set Kyungsoo up on dates, and he always refuses! But he gets lost on Ex’act and gets himself a _husband_ all on his own!” Jongdae cackles, and Kyungsoo wants to rip his stupid perm right from his scalp.

 

Jongdae and Baekhyun end up staying the whole day. Kyungsoo fills them in on how his month has been, what he’s learned and experienced. As imagined, most of his stories revolve around Jongin, who listens quietly beside him. Kyungsoo thinks that he just wants to hear it all from his lips rather than butt into the conversation. They end up talking each others’ ears off until night time, sitting around the fire pit as the tribe roasts off another boar. The tribe adores Baekhyun and Jongdae as they taught a lot of them English, and Baekhyun seems to know the names of everyone.

“We’ll probably head back around noon tomorrow,” Jongdae sighs as he lies back in the grass after stuffing himself full of pork. Baekhyun sits off to the side, talking to Yixing about something rather intimately. Kyungsoo can tell there’s something going on between those two that he doesn’t know about.

“So soon?” Kyungsoo frowns, combing his hands through Jongin’s hair as his head lies in Kyungsoo’s lap.

“Yeah, we have to start packing up to leave - or at least _our_ division has to.” Jongdae motions between himself and Kyungsoo.

The botanist’s hands freeze in their movements, and he looks at Jongdae with wide eyes. “We’re...leaving?”

Jongdae sits up and looks at him with furrowed brows. “It’s September 9th, Kyungsoo. You’ve known since the beginning that we leave on September 12th. That’s only three days away.”

“I’m…” He’s speechless. “I just forgot, I guess…” Biting his lip, he lowers his gaze to Jongin, who’s staring right back at him with wide eyes, looking vulnerable. Jongdae excuses himself to talk to Suho, and Kyungsoo is left alone with a blank mind and Jongin lying in his lap.

Of course. He’s known in the back of his mind that he’d have to go back to his life some time. He wouldn’t be on Ex’act with Jongin forever. He has a job back on Earth, and a family who’s probably worried because he hasn’t contacted them in a month.

But when he looks down at Jongin, he doesn’t want to leave.

As if reading his thoughts, Jongin sighs and closes his eyes, grasping one of Kyungsoo’s hands and pressing it to his lips to kiss the soft skin of his palm tenderly. He then curls Kyungsoo’s fingers into his own and lays both of their hands over his heart.

“Go Kyun’soo,” he murmurs. “Go home.”

“But, Jongin, I don’t…” Kyungsoo’s grip tightens on his hand. “I don’t want to leave you.”

Jongin shakes his head and opens his eyes, the fire reflecting the warmth in them. He smiles then, and Kyungsoo feels his heart stutter. “Leave. See brother and father. Go home, Kyun’soo. I...I be okay.”

“I don’t know when I can come back.” Kyungsoo confesses. Expeditions to other planets are expensive and only happen every few years. He was lucky enough to be able to come on this one. Who knows if he’ll be able to come on the next one? “It might...be a long time.”

“I wait,” Jongin says honestly, “I wait forever for you.”

“So sweet.” Kyungsoo offers a small smile. _“Maita sanseme._ ”

Jongin leans up on his elbows to give him a lasting, deep kiss. Kyungsoo savors it, closing his eyes and blocking out the outside noises, focusing only on the warm lips against his own. He only has three more days to feel these kisses and the touch of hot, rough hands against his skin. When exactly did he become so addicted to Jongin? Something tells him that a minute reaction happened the moment Jongin touched him for the first time, when he was curled up in that tree, and Jongin extended a hand to his cheek. Jongin had known then. He’d known that Kyungsoo was the one. But he didn’t want to keep Jongin in a promise that could take years and years.

“Listen,” Kyungsoo says once he breaks away from the kiss, “if I don’t come back for a while, don’t wait for me forever. If you feel sad waiting, then don’t force yourself.”

“Kyun’soo--” Jongin’s stopped by a finger to his lips.

“Promise me.”

Jongin frowns, not wanting to think about the possibility of Kyungsoo never coming back. But if it’s what Kyungsoo wants him to do then, “I promise.”

 

Three days later, and Kyungsoo returns back to the research camp with Jongin, who doesn’t want to part with him until the last minute. He has a hard time saying goodbye to the tribe. Kyungsoo’s bonded with quite a lot of them. A lot of the old women he came to love like grandmothers gave him trinkets, bracelets/anklets, and plenty of quilts. Jongin’s mother and brother gave him a civil sort of goodbye, but Kyungsoo knows they’ll miss him just a _little_ bit.

Jongdae flies them to the camp, something that Jongin is delighted with, pressing his face up against the glass of the helicopter windows to look out with glee. And even when they land, Jongin is appalled by all of the unfamiliar technology around him. Kyungsoo lets him explore for a bit while he packs up his things from his tent. There’s not much to pack other than his personal belongings, and he has to remember to change back into his modern clothes just because he’s been so used to the reliable loincloth. His suitcase is stuffed full, and he has to borrow another bag from another researcher to carry the things given to him by the tribe. The last thing he packs is the flower crown Jongin made him, now dried out but he knows it will carry great meaning for him when he gets home.

When he gets outside, he sees Jongdae and the other members of their division packing things into the helicopter, along with the help of Jongin (who has more muscle than any of them). This larger one will take them to the ship on the other side of the exoplanet. Kyungsoo hands them his things, and Jongdae deems them ready to take off. Everyone climbs into the helicopter, but Kyungsoo strays behind when Jongin comes toward him. And he already feels tears spring to his eyes when Jongin embraces him tightly, crushing him against his chest. Kyungsoo wraps his arms around Jongin’s torso, feeling himself starting to cry, saltwater dripping down his cheeks. This is the last time he’ll see Jongin for a long time. He knows that.

 _“Nien iza nian berand sori’n ari, nier arluna.”_ Jongin’s voice sounds breathy and heavy, and Kyungsoo can easily guess that he’s crying too. _“Nien...nien nian acai.”_

“I-I love you too, Jongin.” Kyungsoo doesn’t want to let go. “I’ll miss you...so much.”

Jongin pulls away, only to cup Kyungsoo’s cheeks and kiss him passionately. It only serves to make him cry more, and Jongin wipes his tears from his face with a sad smile. “No cry.”

“You’re crying too, idiot,” Kyungsoo points out as he rubs at his eyes.

Jongin laughs, but it’s more like a sob. With the back of his fist, he smudges away the tears. Kyungsoo can’t help but hug him again. “I’ll come back, as soon as I can. I won’t forget you.”

“I no forget too.” Jongin replies and then pushes Kyungsoo away gently. “Now go, Kyun’soo,” he says over Jongdae screaming at them to hurry up.

“O-Okay.” Kyungsoo manages to force himself to let go of Jongin’s hands. He smiles at him for one last time before turning around and climbing into the helicopter, willing the tears away as he sits down and buckles into his seat. Jongdae starts up the engine, doublechecks that everything is running correctly, and then they start to take off.

Kyungsoo doesn’t look out the window, knowing that he’ll break if he looks at Jongin one last time.

 

An incessant beeping noise is what wakes him up from his sleep. With a groan, he rolls over in bed, trying to ignore it and fall back asleep, burying his face in his blankets. But it only continues, his phone shuddering and vibrating against the wood of the side table. He throws an arm over, wincing at the chill of the room as he grabs the stupid device, opening his bleary eyes just enough to spot the answer button on the screen, pressing it and lifting the phone to his ear.

“What?” he mumbles.

“I knew it. I knew you were still sleeping. It’s 11 o’clock already!” Jongdae’s loud voice causes him to flinch and hold the phone away from his ear.

“So? I don’t have work today.” Kyungsoo is perfectly fine with spending his day in bed. He’s spent the whole last week staying up until the early morning every day to work on his recent project, so he needs the sleep. “If you need help with your sunflower thing or whatever, ask Minseok to--”

“Baekhyun’s flying home today. His flight from the U.S. is arriving at noon.” Jongdae says, and Kyungsoo is suddenly wide awake.

He sits up in the bed in a flash. “He is?”

“Yeah, so if you want to go see him when he arrives, come pick me up and lets go!”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “So you just needed a ride. Fine, I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

“Alright. See you then!” Jongdae hangs up.

Placing his phone back down, Kyungsoo rubs at his eyes. He swings his legs over the bed, shivering at the cold air as he steps down onto the wood flooring, his bare feet padding out of his bedroom and into the bathroom. It’s just as freezing in there, and Kyungsoo curses the unforgiving Seoul winter and his shitty heating system. He’s never liked the cold and hurries to turn on the shower to warm him up.

It’s been three years since he last saw Baekhyun, who manages the expeditions to Ex’act. He had stayed there after Kyungsoo and Jongdae’s division left, and Kyungsoo heard that their ship landed two months ago in the headquarters in America. But he didn’t think Baekhyun would be coming back to Seoul so soon. He missed his friend, and he’s kind of pissed that Baekhyun didn’t bother to tell him that he was returning. Maybe he didn’t want to tear up any old scars Kyungsoo still has.

Yes, he still thinks about Jongin. He sleeps with the quilts from the tribe, and the flower crown from Jongin hangs on his bedroom wall like a wreath. Kyungsoo wishes he could go back, but with Baekhyun coming home and the expedition now over he doubts there will be another for another six years or so. He’s started to give up on the idea of ever seeing him again. If he goes back in six years, Jongin would probably have moved on like Kyungsoo asked him to.

Once he’s done getting ready, Kyungsoo grabs his keys and heads out the door of his apartment. It only takes him a few minutes to pick up Jongdae, who’s shivering and bundled up in a thick parka. He lets out a whine, as usual, the moment he gets into Kyungsoo’s car and starts fiddling with the heater. Kyungsoo slaps his hand away.

When they’re pulling into the airport parking lot, Jongdae suddenly unbuckles his seatbelt and turns around to mess around with the back seats.

“What are you doing? I’m driving!” Kyungsoo glances at him like he’s crazy.

“I’m cleaning up the back seat; it’s a mess!” Jongdae says, grabbing the random pieces of trash and miscellaneous items collected back there.

“You don’t need to. It’s only Baekhyun we’re picking up.” Kyungsoo pulls into a parking spot, confused.

“Yeah, well, I’m sorry I want our boss slash friend to be comfortable after his long flight,” Jongdae replies as he gets out of the car. It still makes no sense to Kyungsoo because it’s not like Baekhyun is a big guy anyways, but he’s gotten used to never questioning Jongdae’s madness too much.

They head to the terminal and end up sitting on one of the benches as they wait for Baekhyun’s plane to land. Kyungsoo still feels sleepy and closes his eyes, slumped against the chair.

“So are you going to bombarde Baekhyun with questions about _youknowwho_? I’m surprised you never contacted him while he was still on Ex’act.” Jongdae’s question makes him groan.

“No, I’m not. And I didn’t because I feel like I’d miss Jongin more.” Kyungsoo mumbles.

“Hmm,” is all Jongdae says, and that makes Kyungsoo crack in eye open in surprise. Jongdae’s smiling, and that makes Kyungsoo narrow his eyes in suspicion. Is there something he doesn’t know?

“I’m gonna grab something from the Starbucks. Want anything?” Jongdae asks as he stands up.

“No thanks,” Kyungsoo sighs, though he probably could use something to keep him up and awake. Jongdae leaves, and he sits up to keep himself up and running.

Hanging his head, Jongdae’s words again brought him to the topic of Jongin, and Kyungsoo toys with the bracelet on his wrist, the one given to him by Boa with its little moon charm. He can’t count how many times he’s dreamed of Jongin’s voice murmuring _nier arluna_ to him. And whenever he goes to help with Jongdae’s projects and research, he always thinks to himself, ‘Would Jongin like these flowers?’ Some nights he has vivid dreams of being back on Ex’act, of practicing knitting with those old ladies, of bathing in the lake and stream, of sleeping through the cool nights with Jongin stuck to his side. He can’t help that he misses it, those days.

“Kyungsoo!”

His head snaps up, and he sees Jongdae waving him over from the starbucks that’s close to terminal. “The plane is here!”

Getting up, Kyungsoo strolls to where Jongdae stands, sipping on an iced coffee. “Right on the dot. I’m impressed.”

Jongdae nods, and he perks up when he sees the people from the plane beginning to emerge. “Should be coming any minute now.” He looks excited and keeps staring at Kyungsoo with an expectant smile.

Kyungsoo furrows his brows. “Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

“Nothing.” Jongdae’s smile only widens.

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” Kyungsoo scoffs, returning his gaze to the trickle of arriving passengers. It doesn’t take long before he spots Baekhyun, dressed in comfortable clothes with a bag on his back. He looks a little frazzled for some reason, glancing behind him.

“Baekhyun!” Jongdae calls, waving his arms. Baekhyun turns his head and instantly sports a large grin once he sees them.

“Hey, guys,” Baekhyun greets as he makes his way over. He frowns though and turns around to look at the terminal once again. “Where is that tall idiot? I told him to grab our things not take forever on thanking every flight attendant on the plane…” he mumbles.

“You _left_ him alone?” Jongdae gawks.

Baekhyun laughs nervously. “Look he’s been in the states, and he was doing great, so I figured he could handle it.”

“Who are you two talking about?” Kyungsoo asks. “Did you bring someone—”

“Baekhyun-hyung!” A happy, familiar voice calls, and Kyungsoo turns to see a head of pink hair running through the crowd, one bag under each arm. He almost doesn’t recognize him - because he looks so different, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

Kyungsoo trembles as Jongin emerges. He must’ve not known that Kyungsoo was coming because the moment he sees him he stops, drops the bags, and then runs forward. Kyungsoo stumbles back a step as Jongin collides with him, arms hugging him tight. It takes Kyungsoo a moment to get over the initial shock before he’s embracing Jongin back. He can already feel himself crying and buries his face in Jongin’s neck.

Jongin’s chest vibrates as he laughs. “Why are you hiding?”

Kyungsoo pulls away with surprised, watery eyes. “Your English…”

Jongin smiles at him, and Kyungsoo feels like fainting from just the reappearance of those dimples. “I practiced for you, _nier arluna_.” He presses their foreheads together. “I came for you, Kyungsoo.”

“B-But your tribe and - how?” Kyungsoo is speechless.

“You are my fate, and I cannot live without you.” Jongin strokes Kyungsoo’s cheek. “My tribe will be fine without me.”

“He came every night to practice English with me,” Baekhyun speaks up, grinning. “And the night before we took off to go back to Earth, he asked if there was a seat left for him to take.”

“You’re really here to stay?” Kyungsoo croaks, unbelieving.

“If you want me, I am here - forever.”

**Author's Note:**

> *Ex’actian is a made up language by me. Most words are made up and few are stemmed from Basque, an old latin language. Translations:  
> “Nien iku” - I see  
> “Zar dire nian egik, Kai? Zikgatik dig nian eki hau human?” - What are you doing, Kai? Why are you holding that human?  
> “Lasist! Ti da zauris.” - Quiet! He is hurt.  
> “Nien di sentitiz, sanseme.” - I am sorry, prince (note: translates literally to ‘holy son’).  
> “Esker nian kezent, Binnie.” - Thank you for the worry, Binnie.  
> “Ah, zar ekar nian hemin, sanseme? Ha human?” - Ah, what brings you here, prince? A human?  
> “Ti dien eraso ara hi beltkatu.” - He was attacked by a beltkatu (Ex’actian panther).  
> “Maita sanseme.” - Kind prince.  
> “Sansatiene bizan nian iku, sanseme.” - Chief/Queen wants to see you, prince.  
> “Nien iza belt’an, nier arluna.” - I will return, my moon.  
> “Nien nian etan sek!” - I told you no!  
> “Ki, satiene.” - Yes, mother.  
> “Esker nian, nier arluna.” - Thank you, my moon.  
> “Dire nian ilu’si? Hayi esat ri’n neskent dire tze-tze lako nian.” - Are you excited? Hayi said she and the girls are fighting for you.  
> “Nien sek’zain.” - I don’t care.  
> “Aw, iz aria. Nian hit cuzip oran.” - Aw, cheer up. You can cut it now.  
> “Nier arluna, nian dire endare. Nien nian acai.” - My moon, you are beautiful. I love you.  
> “H-Hi sentin mainice.” - I-It feels good.  
> “Zar dire nian egik, sinmi h’arluna?” - What are you doing, soft child of the moon?  
> “Ah, nian dire tis arluna.” - Ah, you are his moon.  
> “Sansena” - wife/princess  
> “Nien iza nian berand sori’n ari, nier arluna.” - I will miss you day and night, my moon.


End file.
